Medication Policy

• As Guided Living caregivers, we are allowed to provide medication reminders for our clients. This can include taking medications out of a pre-filled medbox and handing to a client.
• We are never able to crush medication ourselves; however, if a family member crushes a medication and puts in food, it is OK to assist in feeding the client the food with medication in it.
• We are not able to administer medication which includes: determining the dosing of any med, assisting with liquid medications or having to make any decision to whether or not a client should have a certain medication.
• If there is ever any question, please call the office line 24/7 to speak with a member of our Registered Nurse team right away. It is never an issue to call the office if there is any doubt about the care plan.

Call Out Procedure (or any schedule change)

• If you ever need to call out, it is very important to please call the office directly. Even if it is the weekend, evenings or early in the morning, please call the main office line 508-927-1213 for any call out or change in schedule.
• Please do not call out via text or email. Thank you!

Clients Alone, Cars & Driving

• A reminder that in every care plan it is noted if a client is able to be left alone in order for you to do errands or shopping. If you have any doubt, please give a call to the office anytime.
• Also in the care plan it will note if you are able to drive a client in either your own car, or in their personal car. If you ever are uncomfortable for any reason driving a client’s car or having them in your car, please let the office know right away.
• Please note that we can never be a passenger in a car while our client drives.

Vaccine Info (for you or anyone else interested in the Covid vaccine)

• Anyone can now fill out the form linked below to preregister for a vaccine appointment at a mass vaccination location. Preregistration is only available for mass vaccination locations. After you preregister, you will receive weekly status updates on your preferred contact method. If you get an appointment somewhere else, please remove your name from the preregistration list by replying to these updates.
• https://vaccinesignup.mass.gov/

PPE Will Continue to be Provided by Guided Living for All Shifts

• Guided Living will continue to provide PPE ongoing. As a reminder that when in a clients home masks are mandatory at all times
• If you are low on any PPE, please contact the office or complete the form here: Guided Living PPE Request Form

Aflac Insurance Program

• Guided Living has a group Aflac insurance plan in place for all employees. To learn more about different coverages and what they cost, please click the link below to learn more. Our dedicated contact Rich Archibald is wonderful and happy to answer any questions.
• Click here to visit our Guided Living Aflac sign up page

Professional Online Training Available to You – Plus a Bonus!

We are excited to offer an online training program exclusively for the Guided Living team. Over the years, advanced training and education have been at the top of the list of things requested by our care team. I am happy to announce that we have partnered with Care Academy and now have extensive online trainings available directly in the ClearCare mobile app. All of these courses have no cost to you to complete, Guided Living is sponsoring the fees for all caregivers.

We have created an initial curriculum of six classes and also an advanced curriculum that covers a variety of topics including end of life care, Teepa Snow dementia training, disease specific such as care for Parkinson’s clients, and several more.

Upon completion of the initial curriculum (six courses) you will receive a $75 education bonus and then have access to the other advanced trainings. If you have any questions, please let me or anyone from the office team know.

If you are interested in enrolling and receiving the $75 education bonus, please click here.

$100 Thank You in Today’s Check

As a reminder, in today’s check (3/19/21) there is an additional $100 bonus for all active Guided Living staff. Thank you for your dedication and compassion every day, I appreciate you and every member of our team very much.

While we’re enduring the losses, threats, and deprivations of the pandemic and the disturbance and challenges of political division and a necessary reckoning with racism, we can embrace this time of trauma as a teacher. If we do, it can make us more healthy and whole, wiser and stronger than we’ve ever been, kinder and more committed to creating a world in which we care for ourselves and love one another.

James S. Gordon, MD ~ Founder ~ The Center for Mind-Body Medicine

Free App Description:

Caring for oneself is essential to navigate stress, avoid burnout, and improve our ability to be present in the moment and in our lives.

This is particularly true for caregivers: the humanitarian aid workers, healthcare providers, first responders, and others in caregiving roles that dedicate their lives to helping others, often at the expense of their own wellbeing.

This is why we created a free app, Care for Caregivers: Skills for Resilience through Meditation and Mindful Movement, which can support caregivers in need of rebalancing. It affirms their resilience and ability to thrive and recover from difficult situations, even in the face of acute and chronic stress.

The Care for Caregivers app provides eight guided meditations led by Sharon Salzberg and Gayla Marie Styles that you can watch any time, anywhere, and at your own pace, each between 5-6 minutes long.

Download for iPhone

Download for Android/Google Play

Tips to Manage Caregiver Stress

You can ease your stress with a few simple techniques that don’t take a lot of time. Try these methods to ratchet down the tension. Two-minute relaxation. Switch your thoughts to yourself and your breathing. Take a few deep breaths and exhale slowly. Then do a mental scan of your body to find which areas feel tense or cramped. Quickly loosen up these areas. Let go of as much tension as you can…

Emergency Responders: Tips for taking care of yourself

Responding to disasters is both rewarding and challenging work. Sources of stress for emergency responders may include witnessing human suffering, risk of personal harm, intense workloads, life-and-death decisions, and separation from family. Stress prevention and management is critical for responders to stay well and to continue to help in the situation. There are important steps responders should take before, during, and after an event. To take care of others, responders must be feeling well and thinking clearly.

You Can Take Care of Yourself in Coronavirus Quarantine or Isolation, Starting Right Now

Six things you can do right at this moment, along with some simple exercise equipment to get for your house.

Taking Care of Your Emotional Health

It is natural to feel stress, anxiety, grief, and worry during and after a disaster. Everyone reacts differently, and your own feelings will change over time. Notice and accept how you feel. Taking care of your emotional health during an emergency will help you think clearly and react to the urgent needs to protect yourself and your family. Self-care during an emergency will help your long-term healing.

Helping Children Cope with Emergencies

Regardless of your child’s age, he or she may feel upset or have other strong emotions after an emergency. Some children react right away, while others may show signs of difficulty much later. How a child reacts and the common signs of distress can vary according to the child’s age, previous experiences, and how the child typically copes with stress.

151 Self Care Ideas to Increase Mindfulness and Avoid Burnout

The best self-care ideas are self-care activities that resonate with you on a personal level. The best way to come up with a complete self care plan is to make a list of all the things you enjoy doing best for self care. However, many of us have forgotten what it is like to take care of yourself first.